SAN ANTONIO — During the legislative session, lawmakers didn't extend the life of the state board that regulates plumbers, a decision at least one licensed plumbing instructor says could be dangerous, and potentially costly, for consumers.
"it means that, after this year, my license and (the license of) every other plumber in Texas (and) all the licensing that goes through the state will be expired," BJ Bealor said.
If the life of the board isn't extended, cities and counties would regulate plumbers.
"This could also make the wage for labor go up," Bealor said. "You could be paying a bad plumber the same as an experienced plumber who has an expired license. Then, when you put concrete over a bad job, you could be paying thousands of dollars to fix it down the road."
On Tuesday morning Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted calm to plumbers across the state, writing: "The legislature has given the governor many tools in my toolbox to extend the state board of plumbing examiners for two years without needing to call -- a special session. We will let you know very soon. Don't worry."
Plumbers across the state still plan to rally outside the state capitol on June 14 in response.
KVUE previously reported in late May that lawmakers abolished the TSBPE because they deemed it wasn't worth keeping around in a process called "sunset review." That didn't sit well with Texas plumbers.